Chief Editor~ Ricky Jean<\/em><\/p>\n Alessandra: Tell me a little about yourself.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Tania: <\/b>I was born and raised in Houston, Tx. When I was eighteen I moved to Arlington to attend UTA. I was originally majoring in Architecture Engineering; and in high school I was very involved. I was very social. I was vice president. I lived a life of wanting to be the best at everything. I was vice president of my class for about three years.<\/p>\n I was president of the Science Committee, I was in the National Honor Society, I was a coordinator, and I was captain of my soccer team in high school. I was always involved in a lot of things, so for me I’m very on top of things. That\u2019s why I decided to pursue my major, because I liked drawing and I also liked math and science.<\/p>\n I grew up in a church ever since I was five. It was a Pentecostal church. I\u2019m used to going to church every Wednesday and Sunday. My parents would make me, plus my sister and I would read our Bibles. But we would read as a family, and then we would pray every night. However, for me\u2013 I always felt forced to go, so because of that, I didn\u2019t really have a relationship with God. Until I moved here.<\/p>\n When I was a freshman I felt very anxious and very lonely. That was during the Covid era. All my classes were online; plus I didn\u2019t really have friends either. I was mostly just focused on myself and putting myself first. Until I realized that I felt very lonely, that\u2019s when I started looking for a church. I wanted to start reading the Bible again, and have a real relationship with God.<\/p>\n I started praying really hard to find the right church. I would even cry and be like, \u201cGod, please. I really want Christian friends.\u201d And I wanted to live with Christians as well; godly women that would help me have a relationship with him. That\u2019s when I met Alan and he reached out to me. I was actually on campus for a Bible study that ended up getting canceled, and so that\u2019s how I ended up running into him.<\/p>\n He invited me to Friday night Devo (church service), and I thought that \u201cwow, this is so awesome. It\u2019s different.\u201d Everyone was just so happy and full of energy. Everyone was just so welcoming, and then Eddie asked me if I wanted to do a Bible study.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alessandra: What stage in life are you in? Are you working?<\/b><\/p>\n Tania: <\/b>I\u2019m nineteen years old. I\u2019m currently an intern for the church (DFWICC). I\u2019m also a nanny for our church leaders\u2013 Fernando and Jackie Chavez. Then there\u2019s the life of a disciple; which means I\u2019m constantly in Bible studies, prayers, sharing my faith, D-times (mentoring), etc. On the side I also work for two other families. I\u2019m a nanny for them as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n Every Saturday I baby-sit two toddlers, they\u2019re one year old twins. The other family has three kids. So that\u2019s what I mostly do on Saturdays. I\u2019m also a full time student. I take thirteen credit hours and I\u2019m majoring in Communications.<\/p>\n Alessandra: What are some of your hobbies?<\/b><\/p>\n Tania: <\/b>A hobby for me is organizing. I really like organizing. For example: I like organizing my pantries, my clothes. I like to color coordinate it, and just fold it a certain way. Drawing. I mostly like sketching, mostly with a pencil. And cleaning.<\/p>\n Alessandra: What\u2019s something you would consider unique about yourself?<\/b><\/p>\n Tania: <\/b>I\u2019m a real go-getter. If I have a goal\u2013 I\u2019m going to do everything I can to get that goal done. I\u2019m a really hard worker. I don\u2019t like standing around doing nothing. I\u2019m always doing something. I grew up with my parents having to work most of the time; I had to be independent, and learn to figure things out on my own.<\/p>\n How to cook, how to wash clothes, how to walk myself to school. I would also have to take care of my younger cousin. I had to be a mother role for him. All those things I experienced at a young age, which has made me into the hard worker that I am. I just like working a lot, and I never get tired of it.<\/p>\n Alessandra: What\u2019s something that you do in your spiritual journey that has helped strengthen your love for God?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Tania: <\/b>What really helps me is starting my devotion with God the moment that I wake up. Reading the Bible. Praying to him. That\u2019s where it all starts, because it\u2019s like a marriage, and a marriage with God is like a two-way streak. You want your partner to talk to you and that\u2019s vice-versa. God speaks to me through his word, and me talking to him through prayer. I always pray for him to give me strength and endurance.<\/p>\n Being around the fellowship also helps. I like surrounding myself with people that are walking in Christ. I like being around people that have the same goal, which is to continue having a relationship with God. Their influence helps me to continue on in my journey as well. We\u2019re all doing this together, and we all have to continue on. Perseverance.<\/p>\n Alessandra: Which Bible story or book relates to you the most?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Tania: <\/b>The book of Genesis. It all started with Abraham and Sarah. They didn\u2019t really have faith before, and when I started my journey I also didn\u2019t have a lot of faith in God. I started out being very excited, but I still had my doubts. When I read Genesis\u2013 I realized how much God kept reminding Abraham and Sarah about his promise; that he would make them fruitful, and they were going to birth many nations.<\/p>\n For me\u2013 I wasn\u2019t very fruitful at first, and I was in the world. But with God\u2019s constant encouragement, I was able to see it through. I was able to persevere, and eventually I helped baptize many disciples. It was really awesome to see how much God keeps his promises if we continue to be steadfast. I\u2019ve been able to build my character through those experiences, just like Abraham was able to build his character through his experiences.<\/p>\n Alessandra: What do you love about the kingdom?<\/b><\/p>\n Tania: <\/b>It\u2019s a safe haven. It\u2019s a community that is safe, because when I was in the world I didn\u2019t have anyone I could be vulnerable with. Especially with women because in the world it would be hard to trust them. However, I know that I\u2019m safe in the kingdom; I\u2019m already accepted for who I am. I don\u2019t have to try and win anyone\u2019s approval. I\u2019m already loved.<\/p>\n What I love is that we\u2019re bonded together by the blood of Christ. We hold each other accountable, and we all have the same goal, and we help each other get to that goal. We are family.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" WOMAN OF VIRTUE According to Proverbs 31– a person of noble character is worth far more than gold. Tania seems to have this in Spades. God will continue molding her even further as she does great things for the Lord. Chief Editor~ Ricky Jean Alessandra: Tell me a little about yourself.\u00a0 Tania: I was born […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":36587,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-fullwidth.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[102],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-post"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tribechurches.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/RenderedI-300x300.jpg\")
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